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Faster-Than-Light travel in the Omfalos Galaxy
Faster-Than-Light or FTL is a term that refers to the propagation of matter faster than the speed of light in a vacuum. In accordance with the Special Theory of Relativity, a particle (that has rest mass) with subluminal velocity needs infinite energy to accelerate to the speed of light, although Special Relativity does not mathematically prohibit the existence of theoretical subatomic particles that travel faster than light at all times (called tachyons). FTL travel is the primary method of long-distance interstellar transportation in the known universe. The various forms of this advanced technology allows its users to traverse immense distances of interstellar space in a reasonable amount of time rather than the standard decades to centuries required by conventional, sublight propulsion. The FTL travel is the foundation of intergalactic society and an essential tool for all the spacefaring civilizations to maintain a stable cohesion between all their civilized planets. The most notable methods of FTL Travel in the Omfalos Galaxy are listed below: Hyperverse Drive An Hyperverse Drive is a vital starship engine system that allows for faster-than-light travel through the boundary between realspace (our universe) and an alternate state of existence known as "Hyperverse". An alternate dimension of space-time that could only be entered at faster-than-light speeds using an Hyperverse Drive, Hyperverse is coterminous with realspace, with a unique point in realspace being associated with a unique point in hyperspace. In numbers, the hyperverse drive allows travelers to traverse a galaxy spanning over 110,000 light years in only a few hours or days, the exact travel time depending on a number of factors including destination, point of origin, route, and class of drive. The principles of Hyperverse travel were first discovered by Proto-queen Animah as a way to unite all the species of the galaxy and bring an end to the period of the Long Chaos (a period of fragmentations and endless internecine wars where no race was able to travel outside of their home system, doomed to dominate only a bunch of planets for a relatively short period before collapsing back into dissolution and anarchy). For millions of years the Hyperverse drive remained the most common form of interstellar propulsion used in the galaxy, making interstellar exploration, commerce, and warfare possible. Those who benefited mainly from this type of propulsion were the chosen races, such as the Atrilii, which thanks to it were able to unify the galaxy under their rule for untold millennia. But all this changed with the arrival of the warmongering Shakrans, who, in order to disrupt the transport network of the Atrilii Empire, used the dreaded substance known as Unlight to pollute the Hyperverse, thus making the hyperverse jumps much more unstable and dangerous, to the point of being impractical. Nowadays, no civilization in the Omfalos galaxy considers this engine system to be safe enough for use and suitable for large-scale production, to the point that the technology and knowledge necessary for its construction is almost completely vanished from the memory of all the peoples of the galaxy. Dimensional Horizon Accelerator Drive The Dimensional Horizon Accelerator Drive, also known informally as the DHA Drive, is a vital spacecraft engine system that allows for faster-than-light travel by skating the boundary between realspace (our universe) and an alternate state of existence known as "Hyperverse". Unlike an Hyperverse Drive, which allows a starship to fully enter and navigate through the dimension of the Hyperverse to achieve apparent superluminal speeds and reduced travel times in realspace, the DHA Drive only allows a starship to make a brief "dive" into Hyperspace. While a starship outfitted with a DHA Drive can still achieve apparent superluminal velocities from the perspective of realspace, interstellar travel using this technology is far slower than conventional travel with an Hyperverse Drive. The disadvantages of this propulsion system are however abundantly compensated by its extreme safety of use, as it is not affected by the same insatiability of the Hyperverse drive, thus allowing to make interstellar journeys through the galaxy without significant problems. This ingenious mechanism was first invented by the Atrilii Empire during the War in the Skies as a way to circumvent the impediment to interstellar travel resulting from the Hyperverse's pollution from the dreaded substance known as Unlight. After the extinction of the Atrilii, the technology of the DHA Drive became extremely widespread throughout the Omfalos galaxy and often traded with the younger civilizations eager to build their own interstellar empire. The DHA drive is the most common form of starship drive system used in the Omfalos Galaxy, making interstellar exploration, commerce, and warfare possible. There are six types of DHA Drive, each one a further step towards the improvement of this technology: : DHA Engine DHA Engines are the uncertain and erratic technology utilized by the Kurax race to reach faster-than-light speeds. DHA Engines are essentially crude machines rebuilt from the ruins of salvaged DHA Drives. Like all Kurax technology, these machines are not precise and accurate as the other species' technology and the crew would be lucky to only find their ship hurled thousands of light years off-course (in the worst cases they would end up inside an asteroid belt, an incandescent star or an all-swallowing black hole). The maximum range of the DHA Engines depends on which of the six types of DHA Drive is based. Hyperverse Gate Hyperverse Gates are mass transit devices scattered throughout the Omfalos galaxy, usually located within star systems, that create Hyperverse wormholes that allow near-instant travel through space and to other Hyperverse Gates. Each one of these gates is linked to all the others by many tunnels through the dimension of the Hyperverse. By activating this technology and passing through the threshold, it is possible to be immediately transported through the hyperverse to a corresponding Hyperverse Gate terminus at another location. Hyperverse Gates are generally located in the depths of space, at the boundaries of solar systems, within solar systems, and even on planets. The largest are easily big enough to permit the passage of spacecraft and are usually situated at the edge of a solar system or amongst its outer planets. Other gates are only large enough to permit the passage of small vehicles, or perhaps human-sized creatures. These occur mostly on planet surfaces and lead directly to other gates on the surfaces of other planets. They were built by the Atrilii as a safer alternative to the DHA Drives, in fact the tunnels generated by these devices somehow avoid the normal disturbances of the polluted Hyperspace, allowing a journey to be made within a fixed time and in perfect safety. After the extinction of the Atrilii following the devastating War in the Skies, the Hyperverse Gates have become a fairly common form of space travel among the younger species inhabiting the galaxy, although they are not without potential dangers. All space-going races are prepared to utilise Hyperverse Gates when they find new ones, although discovering where they lead can often be hazardous. Many gates appear to be defective, and can dump a starship randomly into the Hyperverse. Others can lead to places which may once have been stars or planets, but which are now no more than empty space. The possibility of emerging into a distant, hostile alien star empire also has to be considered. Hyperverse Gates often become extremely important to whoever controls them, and many are of vital strategic value to the civilizations that claim it. The most strategically important ones are those that connect the Omfalos galaxy with its satellite galaxies (Haden, Persephos and Demetre), often proving to be the only safe and fast way to travel from one galaxy to another. Inertialess Drive The Inertialess Drive is a non-Newtonian, reactionless form of spacecraft propulsion that allows a vessel equipped with it to move through space without any form of inertia. This allows the spacecraft to actually travel faster than the speed of light in a vacuum in space without increasing its mass to an infinite size or requiring an infinite amount of power. How this is accomplished without violating the known laws of physics is completely unknown to the majority of the species of the universe. The Inertialess propulsion system is utilized almost exclusively by the Grox, one of the most advanced and tech-savvy species in existence. Like much about Grox technology, its inner workings are completely arcane to the majority of the other species of the known universe. Extradimensional Drive The Extradimensional Drive, or Extradimensional Engines, are devices integrated into spacecrafts used by a relatively small amount of intelligent races to actually enter some particular alternate dimensions that echoes and underlies the familiar four dimensions of realspace (our universe), such as the Nethervoid and the Everglow, making them capable of a form of faster-than-light travel known as Extradimensional travel or Extradimensional jumping. The Extradimensional Drives allow a starship to enter one of these dimensions, travelling its currents until reemerging into realspace tens, hundreds or even thousands of light years away from the starting point in a relatively short period of time; although the myriad dangers associated with dimensional travel are terrible indeed, like the possibility of being boarded by hostile entities from another dimension or find the ship hurled thousands of light years off-course. Although there are technologies with effects similar to those of this device, such as the Hyperverse Drive, the Extradimensional Drive is considered to be one of a kind because its inner workings are completely arcane to the majority of the species of the known universe that do not use it, as it is based on principles that deviate much from traditional science and that have much in common with esotericism and, for lack of a better term, "magic". The only known civilizations that make use of these arcane devices are the Shakran Dominate and the Laithin Illuminate, which prefer to travel through the dimensions of Nethervoid and Everglow, respectively. Category:Omfalos Galaxy